Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

Other common methods include resin/UV light, and powder/laser.

Nozzle Diameter and Layer Thickness

The smaller the nozzle diameter, the less the material deposited and the higher the printing time. In short, it’s a trade-off between resolution and speed.

Nozzle diameter also determines the layer thickness. Recommended layer thickness: 15-75% of the nozzle diameter.

Examples from our printers:

• Bambu Lab X1C printer with 0.4 mm nozzle supports a minimum layer height down to 0.08 mm (80 microns) and a maximum of 0.28 mm.
• Bambu Lab H2S printers with a 0.4 mm nozzle supports a minimum layer height down to 0.08 mm (80 microns) and a maximum of 0.24 mm.

Print Precision

If an object feature is supposed to be 100 mm, the actual print may be 99.9 mm or 100.1 mm. This is not too important when printing large size objects or features.

But, if a feature I’m printing is supposed to be 0.5mm, then the actual print may be 0.4 mm or 0.6 mm.

Examples from our printers:

• Bambu Lab X1C has a precision of ±0.1 mm to ±0.2 mm.
• Bambu Lab H2S has a precision of ±0.05 mm.

Temperature (material dependent)

Extrusion temperature > melting temperature

PLA: Tmelt = 170-180 Celsius

• Too low temperature doesn’t allow flow of melted polymer.